"Help" in selling Corvette

[Henry S.]

I just listed two Corvettes in the Corvette and Chevy Trader for sale starting with the April issue. I have received two calls from people or companies wanting to "help" me sell the cars. One actually said they would guarantee I could sell my car for the full asking price or I would get a refund of the $100 fee. The other stated they also had a money back guarantee. Has anyone ever had experience with companies like this good or bad? One of the companies (greatcarsandtrucks.com) seem like by their website to be legitimate but anyone can put up a website. Any experiences good or bad are appreciated.

Thanks guys, (and gals)
Shooter

[Kevin M.]

Re: "Help" in selling Corvette

Wait till your ads come out. And post them online at a Corvette web site like Vetteheads public message desk or Corvette Forum there free.

Kevin

[John H.]

Re: "Help" in selling Corvette

The only thing they'll do for you is to lighten your wallet.

[Jim D.]

Re: "Help" in selling Corvette

I had a car in the AutoTrader for 6 months with no bites. It was a 57 T-Bird. The price started at $27,500 and I lowered it to $25,000. I got a call from a guy that sells cars on E-Bay and he has a 100% feedback with about 200 cars sold. He tells me he will take the pics. put it on E-Bay and we'll split everything over $25,000. It sold for $30,000 with a buy-it-now in 6 hours. People are hesitant to buy from a private party but not a dealer with a good rating.
If it's no risk, go for it.

[Michael S.]

Re: "Help" in selling Corvette

Great pictures and a superb/detailed description are the haulmark of a good seller on Ebay. Selling in 6 hours with the Buy It Now is not surprising. Anybody can place an ad however it takes an experienced salesman to place a GREAT ad that will SELL a car.

Ebay is still the best bang for the buck as far as advertising dollars as more people will see your ad in a timely fashion. For all the crap you may hear about Ebay, it still the best $50 you will ever spend to advertise a car!

[Henry S.]

Re: "Help" in selling Corvette

Thanks to each of you for responding. They're all excellent points. And Mike as you said Ebay DOES get the word out. THANKS AGAIN!

Shooter

[Chris Patrick]

Re: "Help" in selling Corvette

Those guys are ripping you off! Send $75 to me instead for a MUCH better deal.

Mike is right about eBay. Here are a few tips.

1. Try to maximize the exposure. Don't put it up to end over SuperBowl weekend, Daytona 500, Prom Night, and so on.

2. Try to get it to cover two weekends.

3. Careful of the ending time. 9 pm in California is midnight on the East Coast. Likewise, 8 pm on the East Coast means many are not home at 5 pm in California.

4. CLEAR, CONCISE pictures. This is really important. Some sell with the single crappy picture that looks like it was taken with a freebie digital camera at 100 feet about sundown, but don't expect to do so. It is important to cover all the necessary areas and not just fluff. This is what I would consider minimum required.

a. Overall car - front 3/4 view, rear 3/4 view, opposite ends so that all of the car is seen.

b. Engine compartment - one from each side, covering all of it, including the hood lip and the radiator support.

c. Engine stamp pad - this must be CLEAR and LARGE. Look at your picture before you publish. If youcan't see it, no one else will and this is IMPORTANT to all buying a classic Corvette.

d. Trim Plate - not as important as the stamp pad, but it is wanted by serious buyers. Check you can read it in the picture. They don't want to know there is a plate, they want to READ the plate.

e. Interior - at least one from each side to cover the interior.

f. If you are selling a $25,000 or a $75,000 car, why would you cheap out on $1.00 or so of pictures on eBay? Be sure to include several. Get your own website or picture hosting if you need to and put the extra pictures in the body of the ad, but don't try to sell with only one or two pictures.

5. Description - First, be honest and clear. We all recognize the salesmanese very quickly. DO NOT TYPE IN ALL CAPS AND MAKE IT ONE PARAGRAPH! Man, I hate ads like that. It shows me the guy is an idiot or an AOL user (same difference). Break it up, use several paragraphs to make it read easier, and use regular typing. Some color or fancy fonts work, but many just distract.

Here is one where the description sucks! RED CAPTIAL TEXT IN ONE PARGRAPH. How much harder can it be to read? His pictures are excellent in detail, although he really has too many of jus trunning around the body and they load slow.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1967-CORVETTE-RDSTR-427-390-FACTORY-A-C-4-SPD-S-2-TOP_W0QQitemZ260092758526QQcategoryZ6168QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This one must be an old codger with bad eyes, because the font is so large you can read it across the room! But it is sure hard to read from my desk.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1967-427-TRI-POWER-CORVETTE-COUPE_W0QQitemZ260093005922QQcategoryZ6168QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

It was so hard to actually find a decent ad, let alone a GOOD ad, I decided just to make one up here. This would be your body of the ad.



This is a 1967 Corvette convertible. We have owned it since 1988. There are 15,000 miles since a body-off restoration in 1990. There are 78,345 miles showing. We bought it from the fourth owner and have history on it to the second owner. The car is in excellent shape and we do drive it without worry on any club road trips. It received an NCRS Chapter Top Flight in 1992.

The engine is the 350 hp 327 with wide ratio 4 speed. The rear end is a 3.55 ratio. This gives great stop light performance without sacrificing highway travel. The engine was rebuilt in '90 as part of the restoration to factory specs. The 4 speed was checked and freshened by 4 Speeds by Darrell. The engine pad information is 7114718 F0307HT. Based on previous owners' comments, I believe this is the original engine.

The paint was done in lacquer and is still in excellent condition. Some gravel chips are under the rear fenders as shown in the pictures. It is covered usually in an attached garage which is not completely heated, but never gets to freezing in winter.

The interior is Al Knoch and is also in excellent condition. The trim tag information is H14 Style 67 467 Trim 418 Body A2135 Paint 980.

It has manual disc brakes, manual steering, wide ratio 4 speed, shifter is set on the close throw, 3.55 rear, AM-FM radio, black top, hardtop, and Rally wheels.

The car is available to be seen. Please email me at seller@yahoo.com or call my cell at 816-555-1212 for more information or to make arrangements to see the car.

At the end of the auction, please send $1000 non-refundable deposit within 48 hours by Paypal or overnight delivery of a certified check with your full contact information.

I cannot ship, but will assist your shipper.

[Les Jacobs]

Re: "Help" in selling Corvette

Very nice template Chris. I've copied it in case I ever give into the "Aren't you too old for this?" mood. Les

[Chris Patrick]

Re: "Help" in selling Corvette

Thanks, Les. Too many write them like they are doing an ad on TV or a billboard, wild and bold to catch your attention.

The trouble is, if you opened the page to see it, it has your attention, it doesn't need to do more but tell you the facts.

Another peeve is the ad with the history of the 19xx Corvette. Five or six paragraphs about Corvette, the 19xx Corvette, what was going on in year 19xx, etc. and FINALLY you get to this car in the auction. It is usually there to lead you to the knowledge that only 5 of this combination of color, interior, and engine were ever made, and thanks to one of the options, only one really exists like this one. So it has to be worth $25,000,000,000 at least.

[Roy B.]

Re: "Help" in selling Corvette

Unfortunately many buyers think a person selling a Corvette can not be trusted that's why many people sell them through a so called Corvette dealer thinking they should know and can be trusted . ME! that's the last place I would think of , I like talking to a persons and get a handle on their personality by phone . If they don't give out their number forget it .If they don't say come and look before I turn over all the money forget it. I like to buy from some one that has had their Corvette for many years not one they just got. And saying it took top flight showing that blue ribbon don't mean nothing , it was only good for ONE DAY.
I've sold Corvettes saying don't call me if your a tire kicker, dreamer, dealer ,a newbee or a NCRS Corvette fanatic. I dont BS and dont wont BS and have had great buyers that are still happy. Just sold my 67 Corvette on e-bay by listing it just that way. Then you get real people that will buy if it's what they wont.

[Chris Patrick]

Re: "Help" in selling Corvette

Roy, I have to respectfully disagree with the phone number. The way the Internet is, that is asking for trouble. Now I'd gladly give it to anyone emailing so we can talk, but to post it publicly is the equivalent to painting it in a bathroom stall AND sending it to the telemarketers.

The same with email addresses. I rarely post a regular email anywhere the public can see. For that, there are disposable emails. My eBay accounts are set up with email addresses that get changed randomly, to cancel the tons of spam. On public forums, I typically use a Yahoo address if I have to post one. Discard if the spam goes nuts.

It is a lot different time than when my grandfather called from California to say they thought they'd be there a few months - would we mind going out and locking the doors on the house?

I agree that most put too much stock in the Top Flight awards. Some have them from a year or two ago, others from the '90s, and still others from the '80s. The longer ago they are, the further from that condition they can be. Not to mention, was '80s Top Flight really as tough as Top Flight in 2006?

I think the only thing you can use Top Flight in an ad for is to determine that the car probably has most of the right stuff and is in pretty much a factory configuration, as opposed to having a ZZ4 crate engine and fender flares and a C4 suspension, and so on. Not to say that it hasn't been done, but it decreases the likihood.

[Roy B.]

Re: "Help" in selling Corvette

I understand your feeling, but I've been lucky so fare. Like I said a top flight is just a starting point to get my interest. I have my phone number out there for selling those bubble tops any way and e-mail/.